- a weekly column published in the Pioneer Press

District 5 has many firefighting operations. There are city fire departments like Fort Jones and Etna; Special Assessment Districts like Scott Valley Fire, Hornbrook and Happy Camp; fire companies like Klamath River, Seiad, Salmon River and Hilt. There is also the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection (CDF) “Amador Plan” station at Hornbrook.

With the exception of the CDF station, ALL of these fire departments are staffed by volunteers and ALL of these fire departments are strapped for funds – many to the point of crisis.  

In 2002, a law was passed requiring volunteer firefighters to satisfy the same occupational safety and health requirements as full-time paid firefighters. A subsequent bill extended the deadline to the end of this year. What this has meant to our local volunteers is that many have had to attend well over 100 hours of additional training to acquire certifications. They have also had to pass physical requirement tests. 

Siskiyou County’s Fire Warden, Allan Stovall, has worked with the Board of Supervisors to fund and establish a training officer to work with fire companies and to perform physical testing for breathing apparatus. The College of the Siskiyous has also stepped up to the plate to provide critical training classes.

Several days ago, I was chatting with a young wife of a firefighter. The effort, time, and  expense contributed by these families has been substantial. We need to recognize the personal sacrifice of these volunteers, and thank all of them. These women and men are truly our hometown heroes. If you are awaiting a “calling” to service of your community, the time is now. 

The fire response system in Siskiyou County is very complex. The U.S. Forest Service provides wildfire coverage for the National Forest and support to local communities. Across most of the rest of District 5, CDF provides wildfire coverage on private lands. It also fights structural fires in some outlying areas. Most CDF stations, like the one in Fort Jones, close after “fire season.” The County pays to keep the station at Hornbrook and the one at Weed running off-season. This is called the “Amador Plan.

Alan Stovall serves as our County Fire Warden. The County funds two dispatchers for the Yreka Interagency Communication Center, a training officer, and provides the use of several fire trucks. The seven volunteer fire companies under general County Fire include Klamath River, Salmon River, Seiad and Hilt.

Carved away from the background of County Fire are the Special Assessment Fire Districts like Scott Valley Fire, Happy Camp and Hornbrook. Years ago, local people created these districts and voted a property tax to fund them. Now the resulting patchwork system has gaps in service coverage for newer houses and glaring inequities and inadequacies in funding.  .

Look for future public discussion on how to fix fire service and funding problems.

Homework: Ask your insurance agent what it would cost to insure your place if there was no fire department. What would your mortgager do if you couldn’t get insurance? Check your property tax bill to find out how much you pay in taxes earmarked to support fire service. Find out where to send local voluntary donations.